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enFree live webinar - Growing Fruit Trees with Easehttps://bookpubco.com/content/free-live-webinar-growing-fruit-trees-ease-0
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/GrowUrbanOrchards_1.jpg?itok=tqR1Xx0A"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/GrowUrbanOrchards_1.jpg?itok=tqR1Xx0A" width="159" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Free LIVE webinar<br />
Growing Fruit Trees with Ease - with Susan Poizner of <a href="http://www.orchardpeople.com">www.orchardpeople.com</a><br />
Thursday, May 16th at 8pm EST<br />
Learn the 9 steps to organic fruit tree growing success.<br /><a href="https://events.genndi.com/register/818182175026317746/7eca942a8f">Register now to reserve your spot!</a></p>
<p>Videos<br /><a href="https://youtu.be/3JG1H0gwr7U">Webinar Promotion:</a><br /><a href="https://youtu.be/woA9WoUXbZs">Why Prune Fruit Trees:</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author-bio field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/author/warren" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">warren</a></div></div></div>Wed, 08 May 2019 16:41:16 +0000buddyboy567 at https://bookpubco.comWidening the Circle of Compassion https://bookpubco.com/content/widening-circle-compassion
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/BecVegan.jpg?itok=Bf5Hq285"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/BecVegan.jpg?itok=Bf5Hq285" width="210" height="300" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Post from <em>Becoming Vegan</em>. It takes immense inner strength to oppose the status quo. It takes courage to resist the pressure to accept what the influential people in your life consider morally and culturally reasonable, and perhaps even necessary. Yet, if people didn’t rise up against social injustice, slavery still would be legal, the poor would remain uneducated, and women wouldn’t be able to vote.</p>
<p>What does a vegan lifestyle have to do with social justice? Nothing—if animals are regarded as resources; everything—if animals are recognized as sentient beings. It’s possible that one of the greatest social injustices of our time doesn’t involve humans at all, but rather our fellow beings—nonhuman animals. Becoming vegan is about taking a stand against this injustice.</p>
<p>The seeds of vegan ethics were sown by philosophers and spiritual leaders in the East, where prevalent religions, such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism, emphasized compassion toward animals and included vegetarianism as a part of their core doctrines. These seeds were nurtured and spread in the West by Pythagoras, a sixth-century BC Greek philosopher and mathematician. Pythagoras shunned the consumption of animal flesh and directed his followers to do the same.</p>
<p>While many other notable thinkers followed suit, including Plato, Plutarch, Seneca, Ovid, and Socrates, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that the moral roots of vegetarianism were firmly established in Western culture. The epicenter was England, and the driving forces were moral leaders of select Christian churches. Although the movement became wellgrounded in the West, when contrasted with the practices and teachings of the East, its early influence was limited.</p>
<p><strong>Vegan Awakenings</strong></p>
<p>The ethics of consuming dairy products were hotly debated within the burgeoning British vegetarian movement, but it wasn’t until 1944 that a small, like-minded group of individuals decided to develop a new branch of vegetarianism, one whose practitioners consumed no animal products.</p>
<p>The father of the contemporary vegan movement, Donald Watson (1910–2005), and his compatriots recognized that the flesh-food industry and the egg and dairy-product industries were inextricably linked, because animals raised to produce eggs and milk were eventually slaughtered and eaten when they were no longer productive. These British vegans contended that the case against these industries rivaled the indictment of the meat industry, so the use of dairy products and eggs was no longer justifiable for ethical vegetarians. Their intent was to eliminate the exploitation of animals and to move closer to a truly humane society.</p>
<p><strong>Vegan: The Founder and the Word</strong></p>
<p>Donald Watson coined the word vegan to describe a particular variant of vegetarianism that excluded the use and consumption of all animal products. A vegetarian for 81 years and vegan for 63, he successfully avoided any need for medication—conventional or herbal—and had hardly a day’s illness during his lifetime. His longevity had not been inherited; his father had passed on at the age of 63, and few other relatives survived beyond 70. As he aged, not only did he remain physically healthy but also mentally alert. Many of Watson’s most celebrated interviews were conducted after he turned 90, and he continued to grant interviews until shortly before his death at the age of 95.</p>
<p><strong>Vegan Defined</strong></p>
<p>A vegan is an individual who embraces the philosophy of veganism and seeks to follow a vegan lifestyle. Veganism is a philosophy that promotes reverence for life and compassion for all living beings and rejects the notion that animals are resources to be exploited. A vegan lifestyle excludes, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of animal exploitation. Vegans avoid consumer products derived from animals, including foods of animal origin; clothing produced from fur, leather, wool, or silk; and animal-derived ingredients in personalcare and cleaning products. Instead, animal-free alternatives are promoted. Vegans also avoid activities that involve the mistreatment of animals, including animal research and animal-based entertainment.</p>
<p>A vegan diet excludes meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, gelatin, and other foods of animal origin (except human breast milk). Vegan diets include all foods of plant origin, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.</p>
<p>A pure vegetarian is someone who follows only a vegan diet, not a vegan lifestyle. Sometimes pure vegetarians are referred to as “dietary vegans.” These individuals use non-dietary animal products, such as leather. They also may support the use of animals in research and have no objection to the use of animals for entertainment. In such cases, their choice to consume a vegan diet is generally motivated by personal health concerns rather than by any ethical objections to eating animals. However, pure vegetarians may become vegan as they learn more about vegan philosophy.</p>
<p><strong>How Vegan Do I Need to Be to Call Myself a Vegan?</strong></p>
<p>Being vegan isn’t about personal purity or about moral superiority. It’s about making a conscious choice to widen your circle of compassion by avoiding animal exploitation, as far as is possible and practical. It’s about becoming more other-centered and less self-centered. If you strive to avoid animal products and activities that exploit animals, you already are vegan, even if you slip on occasion. There are no vegan police scrutinizing card-carrying vegans. If there were, our numbers would rapidly diminish.</p>
<p><strong>Why Vegan?</strong></p>
<p>Albert Einstein recognized that the separate existence we feel as individuals is in fact an illusion—that along with all beings, we’re a part of the universe at large. He explained, <em>A human being is part of a whole, called by us the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.</em></p>
<p>Many people believe that being vegan is only about eschewing hamburgers and ice cream. It’s not. Being vegan is about widening our circles of compassion to include those who are commonly excluded, whether they’re humans or nonhuman animals. It’s about understanding that <strong>our choices have consequences for ourselves, and beyond ourselves.</strong> It’s about recognizing that eating animals and animal products is both unnecessary and potentially harmful.</p>
<p>Modern animal agriculture industry causes unspeakable suffering to animals, as well as potentially massive ecological devastation. Intensive animal agriculture reduces land for food production, contributes to global warming, and depletes natural resources.</p>
<p><strong>If everyone on the planet ate lower on the food chain, hunger could essentially be eradicated, many diet-related diseases could be avoided, environmental destruction could be reversed, and animal suffering would ease.</strong> Being vegan is about making choices that are a true reflection of our ethical and moral principles, and acknowledging that custom and tradition justify nothing.</p>
<p>The vision of a truly ethical universe is captured brilliantly by the words of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and esteemed humanitarian:<em> … the time is coming when people will be amazed that the human race existed so long before it recognized that thoughtless injury to life is incompatible with real ethics. Ethics is in its unqualified form extended responsibility with regard to everything that has life.</em></p>
<p>To begin to live ethically, the first critical step is to take the blinders off. Many exceptional books and documentaries explore the topic of animal rights and include exhaustive examinations of industries that exploit animals for retail products, entertainment, experimentation, and medical research. <strong>However, the industry most responsible for animal suffering is the food industry.</strong> More than 95 percent of all animals purposefully killed by people are killed to be eaten.</p>
<p><strong>Nonhuman Animals— Their Plight, Our Power</strong></p>
<p>Some people view everything on this planet as a resource here for the taking. To them, animals exist for the express purpose of serving humans in some way. This logic is used to defend the exploitation of animals for fashion, entertainment, experimentation, research, and food. Some controversy exists about how animals should be treated, but the actual use of animals isn’t a point of contention for the vast majority of people in our society.</p>
<p>However, the standard rules of use vary, depending on the creature and the culture. For example, in America, kittens and puppies are beloved pets. In China, they might be dinner; in some restaurants, patrons can select an individual kitten or puppy. Without a second thought, the chef efficiently skins and boils the animal alive. While Americans may be disgusted by the treatment of cats and dogs in China, treating lobsters in a similar manner seems perfectly acceptable.</p>
<p>Some people would argue that dogs and cats are more intelligent than lobsters, so they deserve to be treated more kindly. That might seem like a logical argument, except that our treatment of pigs, which have been shown to be more intelligent than dogs, is arguably worse than our treatment of lobsters. Yet, these intelligent animals are seldom treated as pets. Instead, they’re treated like raw materials for the food industry’s meat machine.</p>
<p>Fortunately, we have a choice. We can allow ourselves to fall into a hypnotic consumer trance, or we can honor our inner moral compass and withhold the gold. Better still, we might consider embracing the original Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. This version serves as a core principle for every major religion and as a foundation for humanity.</p>
<p>Humankind is beginning to entertain the idea of expanding its definition of “others” to include our nonhuman brethren. The first steps have been taken. Scientists are now submitting declarations to protect the rights of animals that exhibit the traits of a “person,” such as self-awareness, creativity, communication, and intentionality. Perhaps the day will come when simply being a sentient being—able to think, feel and suffer— is enough.</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:17:02 +0000buddyboy561 at https://bookpubco.comLong periods of sedentary behavior may increase cardiovascular risk in older womenhttps://bookpubco.com/content/long-periods-sedentary-behavior-may-increase-cardiovascular-risk-older-women
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/water%20drip_0.jpg?itok=NReFw2Us"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/water%20drip_0.jpg?itok=NReFw2Us" width="208" height="196" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Artical by The National Institutes of Health. A new study has found that the longer older women sit or lay down during the course of a day—and the longer the individual periods of uninterrupted sitting—the greater their risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. But reducing their sedentary time by just an hour a day appears to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 12 percent—and for heart disease alone, by a dramatic 26 percent, the research found. The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health. </p>
<p>“This study provides further strong evidence of a link between sedentary behavior, like sitting and laying down, which uses very little energy, and cardiovascular disease,” said David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, NHLBI. “Sedentary behaviors and inactivity are major risk factors for heart disease, and this research also shows that it is never too late, or too early, to move more and improve your heart health.”</p>
<p>In this five-year prospective study, researchers looked at more than 5,000 women ages 63 to 97 and measured both the total time they sat or laid down each day and the duration of discrete sedentary periods. The results, published today in the journal <em>Circulation</em>, are significant. </p>
<p>“Higher amounts of sedentary time and longer sedentary bouts were directly associated with cardiovascular disease,” said John Bellettiere, Ph.D., research fellow of cardiovascular disease epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, and lead author of the study. “Importantly, the association showed up regardless of a woman’s overall health, physical function, and other cardiovascular risk factors, including whether they also were engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity.”</p>
<p>Of the estimated 85.6 million American adults having at least one type of cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, 43.7 million of them are 60 or older. In fact, 67.9 percent of women between 60 and 79 years old, have cardiovascular disease; and heart disease is the leading cause of death among women 65 and older.</p>
<p>The findings, Bellettiere said, could have implications for what health officials communicate to older women about staying heart healthy. Getting up and moving, even if for just a few minutes more throughout the day, he noted, might help reduce their already-high rates of heart disease.</p>
<p>“Encouraging less sedentary time and shorter sedentary bouts in older women could have large public health benefits,” Bellettiere said.</p>
<p>The research involved an ethnically diverse group of 5,638 women, nearly half of whom were over age 80, enrolled between 2012 and 2014. None had a history of myocardial infarction or stroke. The women were part of the NHLBI-funded <a href="https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=8656403">Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH)</a>—a sub cohort of the Women’s Health Initiative. </p>
<p>At the start of the study, participants wore hip-mounted accelerometers that measured their movement 24 hours a day for seven consecutive days. Previous studies have largely relied on self-reporting questionnaires; the accelerometers, however, provided researchers more accurate measures of sedentary time overall, as well as the duration of individual bouts of sedentary time. The latter was important because it allowed, for the first time, the study of whether sitting for long uninterrupted periods throughout the day was contributing to higher risk of cardiovascular disease.</p>
<p>The researchers then followed the participants for almost five years, tracking cardiovascular disease events such as heart attacks and strokes. They found that on average, an additional hour of total sedentary time was associated with a 12 percent higher risk for cardiovascular diseases, and when that sitting time was made up of long uninterrupted sedentary sessions, the risk was 52 percent higher than when it was accumulated in short, regularly interrupted bouts of sedentary time.</p>
<p>Yet, just as the risk for heart disease can increase with more sitting and longer sedentary bouts, it can be reduced by getting up and moving, even if only a little, and by doing it often throughout the day, the researchers found.</p>
<p>“Reductions of sedentary time do not need to happen all at once,” said Andrea LaCroix, Ph.D., Chair of the Division of Epidemiology and Director of the Women’s Health Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego, who led the <a href="https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=8656403">OPACH study</a>. “I recommend to all women who, like me, are over 60, to make a conscious effort to interrupt our sitting by getting up and moving around as often as we can.”</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 21 Feb 2019 16:09:12 +0000buddyboy560 at https://bookpubco.comWeight Managementhttps://bookpubco.com/content/weight-management
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/obesity.png?itok=1WfVghuo"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/obesity.png?itok=1WfVghuo" width="222" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Information from the National Institutes of Health. Obesity is a chronic condition that affects more than one in three adults and about 17 percent of children and adolescents in the United States. More than one in three adults is overweight. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, fatty liver disease, kidney disease, and other health issues.</p>
<p>If you are struggling with your weight, you may find that a healthy eating plan and regular physical activity help you lose weight and keep it off over the long term.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management">Learn more here.</a></p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 18 Feb 2019 16:08:56 +0000buddyboy559 at https://bookpubco.comGrowing Tomatoes – Which Varieties To Grow?https://bookpubco.com/content/growing-tomatoes-%E2%80%93-which-varieties-grow
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/tomatoes.jpg?itok=3CmvQ_2E"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/tomatoes.jpg?itok=3CmvQ_2E" width="267" height="196" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="http://owninganallotment.com/growing-tomatoes-which-varieties-to-grow.html">From the blog of Jason Johns</a>, author of our new book <a href="https://bookpubco.com/content/growing-tomatoes"><em>Growing Tomatoes</em></a>. There are a bewildering amount of tomato seeds on the market in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are tiny tumbling tomatoes no larger than your fingernail, sweet cherry tomatoes, meaty paste tomatoes, juicy salad tomatoes, and the giant beefsteak tomatoes. Not only do you have this choice, but there are lots of different colors available too, not just the commonly found red tomatoes! Now you can buy tomato plants that produce fruit ranging in color from orange to yellow, green, purple, chocolate, black and deep crimson.</p>
<p>With over 3,000 varieties of heirloom tomatoes actively cultivated and over 15,000 known varieties, it can be very difficult to decide what to grow.</p>
<p>Firstly, decide whether you want to grow from seed or buy pre-grown plants. If the former, then you have a much wider selection as the pre-grown plants tend to be the same few varieties such as Gardener’s Delight or Moneymaker. Occasionally you may find more unusual varieties such as a yellow tomato or Tigeralla or even a black tomato, but these are much harder to find.</p>
<p>When growing from seed, you need to start your plants now or in the next month so that they have time to mature, fruit and ripen. If you are in a colder area with a short growing season, it is important to start them off indoors early so they are fruiting and ripening when the weather is right for them. Pre-grown plants can be bought much later in the season around the time, or just after, the last frost. Remember, tomato plants are not frost hardy!</p>
<p>Be adventurous with your choice of tomatoes, don’t just grow the same tomatoes you can buy in the store, choose some varieties that are unusual, different and not available from the shops. I have my favorite varieties, but every year I like to try one or two new cultivars that I’ve not grown before. Each year, new types of plant are brought to market, so there is always something new to try!</p>
<p>One thing to consider is whether to grow determinate or indeterminate tomatoes.</p>
<p>Determinate tomatoes are known as bush tomatoes. They grow up to about three feet tall, set buds at the end of the branches which form flowers. The fruit all ripens at once and then, usually, the plant dies back. These are great if you don’t have a lot of space, haven’t got the time to prune your plants, or you want a lot of fruit ripe at once to can or make into something. There are fewer varieties of bush tomato, but you can usually find a variety that is the size and color you want to grow.</p>
<p>Indeterminate tomatoes are the type of plant people are most familiar with. These are the vining tomatoes that need supporting and grow like crazy. These have to be pinched out and will continue to produce fruit until they are killed off by frost. Indeterminate tomatoes produce very large crops of tomatoes over a longer period as the fruit does not ripen all at once. These are great for eating as you do not end up with a glut of fruit. Typically, you limit the growth of this type of tomato so that it can ripen the fruit.</p>
<p>Whether you are growing in the soil or in containers will also influence your choice of seeds. Bush tomatoes are better suited for containers as their size is limited whereas indeterminate tomatoes need larger containers because they grow so big. Tumbling tomatoes are excellent for hanging baskets and make for a striking, edible display.</p>
<p>Which you choose to grow is up to you. I recommend picking some you like, so if you regularly buy cherry tomatoes or salad tomatoes, grow some of those. Instead of growing a normal red cherry tomato, grow a yellow cherry tomato such as Golden Gem or a pear yellow tomato such as Nugget or an unusual crimson tomato such as Midnight Snack.</p>
<p>If you fancy something more unusual, try growing Cherokee purple for giant, beefsteak tomatoes that are a lovely shade of purple. Big Rainbow is another beefsteak variety worth growing due to its unusual striping. One of my favorites is Mortgage Lifter, which are giant red tomatoes. They got their name from the farmer who developed them. He was on the verge of losing his farm when he developed this variety of tomato which he sold at markets. It was hugely profitable for him and he was able to pay his bills and save his farm, including paying off his mortgage, hence the name!</p>
<p>There are lots of varieties out there and you will even find that different seed companies stock different varieties plus may have exclusive varieties. Choose some that you like and pick one or two varieties that are purely for fun, as an experiment; you never know, you may find a new favorite tomato!</p>
<p>Tune in to the next installment to find out the difference between F1 and Heirloom tomatoes and to learn what you need to start your tomatoes off!</p>
<p>Discover everything you need to know about growing tomatoes in my new book, <em>Growing Tomatoes</em> available in paperback and ebook in the UK <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Growing-Tomatoes-Your-Guide-Delicious/dp/1570673675">here</a> and the rest of the world, including the USA <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Tomatoes-Your-Guide-Delicious/dp/1570673675">here</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 08 Feb 2019 16:43:14 +0000buddyboy558 at https://bookpubco.comPlant-Based Diets Best for Health, Environment, and Athletic Performancehttps://bookpubco.com/content/plant-based-diets-best-health-environment-and-athletic-performance
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/12064_0.JPG?itok=GANWCJbj"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/12064_0.JPG?itok=GANWCJbj" width="133" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Article from PCRM. Plant-based diets reduce chronic disease risk, require fewer resources, and do not hinder athletic performance, compared with omnivorous diets, according to a report published in <em>Nutrients</em>. The authors reviewed publications that compared nutrient density, athletic performance, disease risk, and environmental factors between those following vegetarian and omnivorous diets. Plant-based diets lower risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer while lowering cholesterol and oxidative stress levels. Vegetarian eating patterns require less land, water, and energy when compared to animal-based diets. Researchers observed no negative effects of plant-based diets on athletic performance and noted potential benefits such as increase antioxidant intake via fruits and vegetable consumption.</p>
<p>Lynch H, Johnston C, Wharton C. Plant-based diets: Considerations for environmental impact, protein quality, and exercise performance. <em>Nutrients</em>. 2018;10:1841-1857.</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 10 Jan 2019 15:26:49 +0000buddyboy555 at https://bookpubco.comMediterranean diet named the best for 2019https://bookpubco.com/content/mediterranean-diet-named-best-2019
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/VeggiesSm_0.jpg?itok=nABRtOme"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/VeggiesSm_0.jpg?itok=nABRtOme" width="244" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Article from CNN. If you're a fan of the Mediterranean diet, get ready to do a victory dance. For the first time, the Mediterranean diet has won the gold as 2019's best overall diet in <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__health.usnews.com_best-2Ddiet&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=W8uiIUydLnv14aAum3Oieg&amp;r=eBiGgXECL5TyZF9gR9BlqdKJx8U4imeJ9qFasPBXfo8&amp;m=w1Nmgk-z5mWEnG8B8LINPhBR6Vs7KF98HJflk0lJ0wY&amp;s=4UEHjOrGr7b_yR6--uGiMZWUY_M-1mwf9hjfb3KPmBI&amp;e=" target="_blank">rankings announced Wednesday by US News and World Report.</a> The analysis of 41 eating plans also gave the Mediterranean diet the top spot in several subcategories: best diet for healthy eating, best plant-based diet, best diet for diabetes and easiest diet to follow.<br /><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/health/mediterranean-best-diet-2019/index.html">Read more.</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 03 Jan 2019 17:29:29 +0000buddyboy554 at https://bookpubco.comDaily Aspirin May Not Benefit Healthy Older Adultshttps://bookpubco.com/content/daily-aspirin-may-not-benefit-healthy-older-adults
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/senior-woman-holding-bottle-pills.jpg?itok=geOsfX7h"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/senior-woman-holding-bottle-pills.jpg?itok=geOsfX7h" width="216" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>From NIH News In Health. The study focused on whether healthy older people could benefit from starting to use aspirin. A new study found that, for healthy older adults, taking a low-dose aspirin each day didn’t extend life or prevent a first heart attack or stroke.</p>
<p>Heart diseases and stroke are the leading causes of death and disability in older adults in the U.S. These are often caused by blood clots that form in the blood vessels to the heart or the brain.</p>
<p>For people who’ve had a heart attack or stroke, aspirin can help prevent a second one. Aspirin helps thin the blood to avoid further blood clots. A low dose of daily aspirin has also been shown to reduce the risk of a first heart attack or stroke for people who are at high risk for these conditions.</p>
<p>To see if aspirin could benefit healthy older adults, too, researchers randomly assigned more than 19,000 healthy older adults to take aspirin or an inactive pill, or placebo. Most participants were 70 and older (65 and older for African-American and Hispanic individuals).</p>
<p>Both groups had similar rates of health problems and deaths. Aspirin didn’t reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, physical disability, or dementia. Those taking aspirin had an increased risk of bleeding, which was already a known risk of regular aspirin use.</p>
<p>“These initial findings will help to clarify the role of aspirin in disease prevention for older adults,” says Dr. Evan Hadley, who oversees clinical aging research at NIH’s National Institute on Aging. “But much more needs to be learned.”</p>
<p>Talk to your health care provider about your health risks and whether daily aspirin use is right for you.</p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 07 Nov 2018 17:45:24 +0000buddyboy540 at https://bookpubco.comDead Execs Don't Get Bonuseshttps://bookpubco.com/content/dead-execs-dont-get-bonuses
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/joel-kahn-1.jpg?itok=okuwzy5I"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/joel-kahn-1.jpg?itok=okuwzy5I" width="251" height="155" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Article by Joel Kahn author of <a href="http://www.bookpubco.com/content/dead-execs-dont-get-bonuse">Dead Execs Don't Get Bonuses</a>. Paul Dudley White, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Harvard Medical School and the physician caring for President Eisenhower in 1955 when he suffered a massive heart attack, commented that “a heart attack after age 80 is an act of God but a heart attack before age 80 is a preventable event”. What have we learned since 1955 about heart care that can maximize the chances that your career, and beyond, is free of a heart attack, stroke, bypass surgery or coronary stent?</p>
<p>The most common health detour to successful career and retirement plans occurs with the sudden closure of an artery to the heart or brain causing a heart attack or stroke. This may be fatal or just result in disability. Life can change in seconds, yet the problem was progressing for years. How were years of decay missed? My book, Dead Execs Don’t Get Bonuses, makes the case that dead executives, lawyers, dentists, accountants, judges and even doctors, don’t get vacations, attend weddings, or see children graduate college. What can be done to make the words of Dr. White over 60 years ago a reality in 2018?</p>
<p><strong>Ask for a coronary artery calcium scan (CACS)</strong><br />
Consider this. At age 50 a health care provider says, “we need to schedule your colonoscopy, and if a woman, a mammogram”. Yet, the #1 killer of executives worldwide, atherosclerosis, is not tested for by an examination that directly looks at arteries (a stress test NEVER shows arteries). A provider could and should add that “we need to schedule a CACS so we know if you are developing any silent calcified heart arteries” A CACS is a CT scan of the heart that takes under 1 minute, uses no dye or needles, has a very low radiation exposure like a mammogram, and costs about $100. It is the only way to actually see heart arteries in a painless and simple manner. The CACS score should be zero. Even a slight elevation in the CACS raises the risk for heart attack and a multitude of other diseases of aging like dementia and deep evaluation by a preventive cardiologist assessing risks, lifestyle, stress with advanced testing.</p>
<p><strong>Ask for a carotid intimal-medial thickness (CIMT) scan</strong><br />
A CACS is an amazing advance in identifying silent aging of heart arteries but it requires calcification to be abnormal. There is also a pathology called soft plaque that may threaten health and identify sick arteries. A CIMT is a 20-minute ultrasound of the neck that uses advanced software measurements to examine carotid arteries for both soft and hard plaque. The CIMT also measures the thickness of arteries, another sign of aging. The biggest drawback of the CIMT is finding a quality center that offers it.</p>
<p><strong>Ask for advanced labs.</strong><br />
In my view, it is unacceptable to have the same lab studies you had for the last 30 years as there have been major advances in laboratory testing. I suggest asking for the following tests:</p>
<p>Advanced lipid profile: Rather than giving you a calculated LDL cholesterol level, advanced panels measure LDL particle number and size, which are more predictive of future heart and stroke events. Two people with the same cholesterol levels can have widely different particle and size measurements, making for very different risks.</p>
<p>Lipoprotein (a): This is a genetic form of cholesterol that’s elevated in about 20% of those tested. It’s rarely drawn even though hundreds of research studies indicate that if it’s high, the risk of heart attack and stroke skyrocket. It runs high in many families that have been decimated by heart disease.</p>
<p>Homocysteine: This amino acid is produced by a process called methylation. It can injure arteries when elevated. It may be due to a genetic defect in the MTHFR gene, which is easily measured. It can be treated with methylated B-complex vitamins.</p>
<p>Inflammatory markers: The middle of the word inflammation is flame and it means the immune system is turned on and trying to deal with some kind of disorder, often dietary. The best-known test is the hs-CRP, but there are at least five others I measure in my practice, like MPO and oxidized LDL. If you want the cutting edge, a new panel called the PULS score is available.</p>
<p>TMAO: This is a newly described marker of heart and kidney health that’s elevated after eating meat- and egg-heavy diets with an altered gut microbiome. It has been shown to cause heart and kidney damage, and is associated with worsened prognosis.</p>
<p>apoE: This is a genetic marker related to cholesterol metabolism that is measured from a blood sample. For the unlucky few that inherit a pattern called apo E 4/4, the risk of heart disease AND Alzheimer’s Disease is high and may have an onset 20-years earlier than average.<br />
Never leave an ER without a complete evaluation</p>
<p>If you do not pay attention to your heart risk and if you skip the CACS and CIMT you might end up in an emergency room. Don’t go to an urgent care clinic and always go to a full emergency room as it may save your life. DON’T GO HOME without a thorough evaluation. Ask for “serial” cardiac enzymes that are repeated two or three times, every four to six hours. Ask for repeat ECGs to compare to the one done on arrival. Finally, ask for a definitive test before discharge. This may be a treadmill stress test with echocardiography (no radiation) or nuclear imaging (radiation). In some ERs, the advanced coronary CT angiogram (CCTA which requires iodine dye injection) may be available. This is by far the most accurate way to be sure your arteries are clean before discharge.</p>
<p>Although many years have passed since 1955, the focus on learning CPR and having defibrillators in gyms misses the main point for a successful career and life: the early identification, prevention and reversal of the silent disease that chokes off our vitality. Executives that are alive do get bonuses and vacations which is much more fun.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 23 Oct 2018 15:29:50 +0000buddyboy536 at https://bookpubco.comFish Oil Supplements Do Not Protect Against Heart Diseasehttps://bookpubco.com/content/fish-oil-supplements-do-not-protect-against-heart-disease
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/fish-oil-supplements.jpg?itok=ySxAX1Kj"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://bookpubco.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/fish-oil-supplements.jpg?itok=ySxAX1Kj" width="283" height="198" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Article from PCRM. Omega-3 supplements do not protect against heart disease and other chronic conditions, according to a review published in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Researchers reviewed 79 studies that compared consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) with cardiovascular health. Long-chain fatty acids from fish oil supplements did not protect against all-cause mortality and did not reduce the risk for cardiovascular events.</p>
<p>Results showed increased consumption of ALAs from plant-foods provided a protective effect against coronary heart disease, arrhythmia, and other cardiovascular events.</p>
<p>The authors note that previous recommendations for fish oil supplementation derived from biased research.</p>
<p>Abdelhamid AS, Brown TJ, Brainard JS, et al. Omega 3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 24 Jul 2018 14:59:11 +0000buddyboy535 at https://bookpubco.com